Hi All,
After the last run left my calf muscles a bit sore and painful, I have been thinking about foam rollers.
Are they as good as they say or yet again another gimmick to make you waste your money. If anyone owns/has one what are your thoughts. Or should I look into a deep tissue massager?
Thanks
Saul.
No, they do work really well and generally not too pricey - certainly cheaper than a massage. A tennis ball works quite well on a small targeted area too. Plenty of videos on you tube about how to use them. Be prepared for some exquisite pain though!
Worth every penny couldn't live without mine.
Very useful - I have a cheap smooth one from Argos, but you can go for the bumpy type if you really want to roll deep! Got mine when I had a calf injury last year but I use it regularly to massage tired legs. Certainly not a gimmick in my humble opinion🙂.
I have one - didn't work for me at the time as I had torn the muscle it turned out - not really used it since - just focussed on physio exercises.. but I think they are worthwhile.
That said - the physio told me a tennis ball was just as good...
Lets find a tennis ball first, see how I get on with that and then onto a foam roller if needs being.
Whilst a foam roller is not the right tool for torn muscle, just as sticking plaster is not going to hep a sore throat, it is great for working large muscle groups. A tennis ball is too soft to be of any benefit at all, but a lacrosse ball is very good to pinpoint tight knot areas. If your pain issue is one very tight spot, get the lacrosse ball. If it is whole muscles, get a foam roller. Better still get both - neither is very expensive, and most mportantly get a good book or video tutorials rather than vagualey guessing at the technique.
think they are worth the money i got one in the form of a stck and use it after each run and first thing in the morning!! helps to iron out any niggles
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